Truth and Reconciliation recognized in Amherstburg

Drumming was a part of the Truth and Reconciliation events held last Saturday in Navy Yard Park.

National Day of Truth and Reconciliation was Tuesday but observations of the occasion took place on the weekend in Amherstburg.

Truth and Reconciliation events took place last Saturday, mainly in King’s Navy Yard Park and at the neighbouring Park House Museum. 

Drumming, vendors, storytelling, a screening of the film “When The Leaves Turn Yellow,” servings of corn soup and bannock, yoga and children’s activities.

Partnering businesses included Bucket List Coffee Roastery, the River Bookshop, Hotel STRY, Shooters Roadhouse and Caffeine & Co.

Theresa Sims, who was one of the Indigenous storytellers, said the aim is to work together “as one heart and one mind.”

Indigenous storyteller Theresa Sims tells a story near the Park House Museum Sept. 27. Pictured at left are two of "Three Sisters" designed by the Amherstburg Horticultural Society, with the third being located around the corner.

Sims stated when she was young, she was not allowed to express herself in the language she was born with, something that was finally changed in 1974.

“We were not allowed our culture, our language or our ceremonies,” said Sims.

Sims added that thanks to the work of the Indigenous community but also allies, “we are thriving.”

Noting it is harvest time, Sims added “it is our responsibility to find out what we need, how to use it and how to replace it for the next seven generations.”

“Creation can survive without everyone, we can’t survive without creation,” Sims stated.

Mayor Michael Prue said the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation events were not a celebration or a holiday, but a day of reflection. What the Indigenous community endured, including residential schools, was something that has to be remembered and Prue stated it was a day to commit to doing better.

Town council supports the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, he added, and pointed out the ongoing redevelopment of the former Duffy’s lands into the King’s Navy Yard Park extension. He said when it is completed, there will be a tribute to the Three Fires Confederacy so residents and visitors can understand “whose land we reside on.”

Kat Bezaire, curator of the Park House Museum, said it was a day for the museum to bring awareness to the cause and to the museum itself.

The Park House Museum was busy making corn soup and bannock last Saturday during National Day of Truth and Reconciliation events. Assisting were former curator Stephanie Pouget-Papak, her husband Jason and daughter Grace as well as current curator Kat Bezaire.

Bezaire noted that earlier in the week, vandalism was noticed to an upstairs Indigenous History Learning Gallery at the museum as someone scrawled their phone number on a cork board and on the wall of a bedroom. Bezaire said the vandalism was removed but she was saddened that someone did that in a museum.

On a positive note, she added more will be added to the gallery and that could include a slideshow and more displays educating the public and to “explain the purpose of that space.”

Truth and Reconciliation recognized in Amherstburg

By Ron Giofu